Coney Island: Lost and Found

Growing up on Coney Island in the ’50s and ’60s, Charles Denson experienced legendary amusements and attractions like the Cyclone and Thunderbolt roller coasters, the Parachute Jump, and Steeplechase Park. In CONEY ISLAND: LOST AND FOUND, Denson gives us an insider’s look at one of New York’s best-known neighborhoods, weaving together memories of his childhood adventures with colorful stories of the area’s past and interviews with local personalities, all brought to life by hundreds of photographs, detailed maps, and authentic memorabilia. CONEY ISLAND is a heartfelt chronicle that stretches from colonial times to the island’s heyday in the early 20th century and through its subsequent decline and revival, culminating in the 2001 opening of the new ballpark that brought baseball back to Brooklyn. Features 300 color and black-and-white photographs, including many never-before-published images. Detailed hand-drawn maps trace a century of amusement park history. Includes posters, programs, and tickets from past and present.

“Evocative.”-Newark Star-Ledger

Recommended in “New York Bookshelf, Nonfiction” -New York Times

“Charles Denson traces CONEY ISLAND . . . in all its glory.” -Birmingham News

“[A] crisply researched and tenderly rendered love letter.” – St. Petersburg Times

“Many delightful details assembled in the thoughtful and handsome” volume.” -San Francisco Chronicle

“Denson’s CONEY ISLAND is a well-researched, passionate account of his neighborhood’s decline and rebirth is an invaluable addition . . . to American history.” -New York’s City Limits